Spike
IGN: Spike Mirror Race: Zaraton Age: 27 Gender: Male Job: Mercenary Proficiencies: A: Guns, Combat B: Efficiency, Perception, Endurance C: Charisma Organization: Black Water - Head Enforcer Character Personality: Spike usually keeps a relatively laid back and aloof exterior, however underneath this he can be quite hot blooded and impulsive at times. Whenever he’s pursuing something, or something excites him, he can be ruthlessly determined. Whenever there’s nothing around that interests him however, Spike is quite lackadaisical, often simply laying around or sleeping. Spike views his life like sort of like a dream. Spike's attitude of living in a "dream-like" existence is displayed by his careless behavior and his nonchalant attitude towards dangerous or outright fatal situations. He can be quite sardonic and has a good sense of humor despite his violent life and past, and can detach himself from and make light of even the most serious situation. Backstory: Spike was born in the city of Loeviek, a farcry from the Zaraton's native city of Scrontull. His father had been a Hallowed Hits mercenary, and while on campaign had met a woman in the slums of Loeviek. A handful of coins was all it took, and months after his father had departed the city his mother had found herself pregnant. The woman kept him around for five years, until she gladly left the city for the opportunity to enter the service of a wealthy merchant who had passed through the slums. The following period was sort of a haze for Spike; he did what he could to get by at that age. Sometimes a shop keeper would throw him scraps, or he would band up with some other slum children and pinch food or money. Regardless of his methods, Spike survived by doing whatever he had to in the unforgiving streets and alleyways of Loeviek. At the age of fourteen, Spike met a man named Zodd. Zodd was a retired gladiator from Tembala, and had been one of the most renowned combatants to have fought at the Jungle Dome. Zodd now made a living running a repair shop, fixing firearms or just about anything else that was broken or in need of a repair. The man gave Spike a job doing errands for him or helping him with small repairs. In return for this, he kept Spike fed and gave him a place to stay. Upon learning of Zodd's martial history Spike also asked him to teach him how to fight. The man wasn't very keen on the aspect of handing down what he knew, but after teaching Spike a couple of small things he saw that he had quite the affinity for it. Over the next five years Zodd taught Spike "Dokun", and ancient and now much forgotten about Ushabti fighting style. Dokun translated to "like water", which was the main concept of it. The style revolved around literally being like water, to evade your opponents attacks fluidly and then come crashing down. Spike stayed with the man for five years, eventually becoming nearly as proficient as Zodd himself in the style. Zodd felt that Spike couldn’t learn much else staying with him and Spike felt likewise that he wished to move on. They said their brief farewells, and Spike headed back to the slums of Loeviek. Over the next year Spike did odd jobs here and there to make ends meet, some more unsavory than others. One day he encountered some kids from the slums that he used to know. They offered him a chance to join in on a supposedly easy job, robbing an unprotected storage warehouse. Spike decided to take them up on the offer, thinking it might be just the thing to get him on his feet. At first the job went as planned, the place was relatively unguarded except for a single sentry standing outside the front entrance who was half asleep. As they were unloading crates, they heard a shout from outside the warehouse. As one of Spike’s companions went to peer through the door, a rain of bullets began flying through the walls. Spike dropped behind the crates as people were gunned down, several armed men began to enter the warehouse. One of the men was approaching Spike’s hiding spot, and he knew he would be executed if he didn’t do anything. Spike sprung from cover and leapt upon the man, fighting tooth and nail. Spike’s vision went blurry as one of the other men slammed a rifle butt into his forehead, sending him backwards. Spike looked up through a blood hazed vision as the same man aimed his gun and prepared to shoot him. The third man however, put his hand on the man’s rifle and smiled cruelly at Spike. “You look like an animal” was all the man said before Spike blacked out. When Spike awoke, he found himself bound to a chair in a dimly lit room. The man who had intervened stood before him, a man with golden eyes and a beard. The men who had entered the warehouse were members of the “Black Water Mafia" the largest and most powerful criminal organization in Falendoor, with a reach that crept across almost every city. Spike figured all he could hope for at that point was a quick death. The man however, offered him a choice. Either they dump him back into the slums where he can continue living a meager existence and be stuck in that life forever, or he accepts their invitation and finally gets out. Spike accepted his offer, and two years later he was a Black Water enforcer. Spike seemed to quickly catch on to life in the Mafia and was swiftly rising through the ranks. At the age of twenty he already ranked well above many of the older members. The group specialized mostly in hits and assassinations, but also dealt in the trafficking of narcotics, extortion, and numerous other forms of crime. Spike became quite a skilled gunman during his time with Black Water. His natural deft, perceptiveness, and almost uncanny luck being the only thing that kept him in alive in several near fatal shootouts. His skills with his hands also served him well on numerous occasions. After five years of life in Black Water Spike began to grow tired of it all. A high ranking Capo that Spike worked under named Yen had began to suspect he was going to defect. He could tell in the way he worked, in the lethargy of his actions. He figured that Spike was going soft, considering Spike a traitor who was going against his true nature. He sent men to ambush Spike at a nearby church, which resulted in a brutal shootout that left Spike near death and the church itself destroyed. Spike even lost his right eye in the gunfight, which had to be replaced with a prosthetic. Spike had effectively faked his death, although he regards his false death as real in some way, with his current life seeming to be merely a dream. Spike could have fled the city, easily dissapearing without a trace. However he decided that instead of running he would finish what had been started. He went into hiding until nightfall to arm himself, and bandage up his wounds. Upon nightfall he went to the Black Water headquarters. However walking through the halls, he noticed something very odd. Most of the guards and gang who should be posted were nowhere to be found, even at the front doors there was no guard around. He could hear what sounded like cheering, and the sound of gunshots. Spike approached the door the sounds were coming from, then kicked it open with his gun drawn. At the other side of the door was the leader of Black Water, toppled over in his chair and sniveling before a man, with the rest of the gang cheering. He also spotted Yen's corpse near the chair, gun still in hand. The man calmly turned to Spike with a large smile on his face. It was the same golden eyed man who had brought him into the gang five years ago. Spike's vision went blurry, he dropped his gun and toppled to the floor, passing out from his wounds and exhaustion. As his eyes closed he could see people approaching him. When he woke he found himself in a bed, newly clothed and bandaged. The golden eyed man was in a chair nearby. He began to explain things to Spike. The man had timed his Coup d'etat with Yen's attempted assassination of Spike. Yen, who was Black Waters primary Capo responsible for personal protection of the leader and guarding headquarters had had most of his men assigned with the task of killing Spike. Due to this huge gap in security, he had been able to easily force his way into the leader's chamber. The man expressed his surprise at Spike being alive. He offered Spike the position of head enforcer, due to both his indirect help in making the coup successful and because he was impressed by him surviving Yen's attempted hit on his life. Spike simply asked him for a cigarette, and then the man got up and walked out of the room with a smile on his face.